The Quarterly Labour Force Survey for Quarter 1 of 2015 was released by Statistics South Africa today.

The job shedding policies of the ANC are wreaking havoc on families in the Eastern Cape along with our two major metros. A job is not simply about work, it’s about dignity and being able to put food on your family’s table.

According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, released by Statistics South Africa, today, the expanded rate of unemployment in the Eastern Cape is now 43, 2%. This is the highest in the country along with KwaZulu Natal. This is an increase from the last quarter of 2014, of 1, 3 %, up from 41. 9%.

Nelson Mandela Bay has the highest official rate of unemployment of all the metros at 33, 1 % with Buffalo City at 27. 4%. Our dysfunctional metros are simply not engines of economic growth but are sad examples of ANC job-destroying governance.

This means government throughout the province is failing to create the right climate for economic growth and opportunity. In a fair society sound economic policies should be prioritised over failed ideological positions, which are paralysing the ANC and destroying jobs.

The provincial government needs to do two things:

Firstly provide the necessary foundation for an inclusive, growing economy by ensuring there are quality basic services, effective health care and a quality education system.

Secondly, the provincial government needs to come up with innovative policies such as opportunity centres, which will serve as one-stop shops for small businesses and as central nodes for young job seekers and entrepreneurs to access support.

They should also create a provincial internship programme bases on the successful model used in the Western Cape.

The province also needs to pull out all the stops to cut down on consumption expenditure and ensure that resources that we have are invested in creating a climate for economic growth.

Cutting red tape, improving the efficiency of the civil service and ensuring value for money on infrastructural spending are some of the easy steps that the province can take to improve the climate for job creation.